The overall objective of the internal control is to ensure, to a reasonable degree, that the Company’s operational strategies and targets are monitored and that the owners’ investments are protected. In addition, the internal control shall ensure with reasonable certainty that the external financial reporting is reliable and prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and shall ensure compliance with applicable laws and regulations and the requirements imposed on listed companies.
During the autumn of 2008, SSAB decided to employ a risk manager to replace the Company’s Risk Committee. The risk manager is charged with developing and implementing a uniform risk management model regarding the Group’s risks, primarily relating to injury to individuals and damage to machinery and the environment. The risk manager has the task of identifying, evaluating and reporting these risks as well as compiling and updating SSAB’s risk structure and risk model. The work also involves assessing which preventive measures are to be taken in the internal control in order to reduce and prevent such risks. In addition, the risk manager shall ensure that the Group is sufficiently insured and shall prepare information as a basis for decisions by the Group Executive Committee, the business areas and subsidiaries. The risk manager reports directly to the Company’s General Council. The financial risks will continue to be managed by the Group’s treasury function and are thus outside the mandate of the risk manager.
In order to further strengthen the internal control and risk management, in 2010 SSAB decided to establish a whistleblower function through which serious improprieties and violations of the Company’s Code of Business Ethics can be reported. This function is aimed, among other things, at guaranteeing safety in the workplace, maintaining sound business ethics and curbing economic irregularities within SSAB, to the benefit of employees, customers, suppliers and shareholders.